


Flashstream

by WingedFlight



Category: Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies)
Genre: Gen, I REPEAT: SPOILERS, Post-Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: Far From Home (Movie) Spoilers, Spoilers, forgive the overabundance of f-bombs, i literally held off on writing avengers fic for 11 years but here we are
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-03 06:28:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,161
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19458277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WingedFlight/pseuds/WingedFlight
Summary: Some news takes a bit of time to sink in.





	Flashstream

**Author's Note:**

> By all that you hold dear, do not--I repeat, do NOT--read until you have seen Spider-Man: Far From Home for yourself. I beg you, do not spoil this one.

* * *

💥Flash💥 @theonlyflasht

Hey flash fans, tune in at 4pm ET for my next livestream. You’ve heard rumours but today I tell all: I MET #SPIDERMAN’S BUTLER. bit.ly/flashstream

* * *

_“...and the drone was only THIS FAR from my face, I’m not even kidding right now, it was like RIGHT THERE. And Mr. Happy says--hold up--what’s...slow down... I can’t read your comments… whadyou mean, Mysterio’s live on--hold up, let me…”_

_..._

_“...hoLY FUCKING SHI--”_

**\--END BROADCAST--**

* * *

Flash calls Ned first--if anyone already knows the truth behind Peter Parker, it’s that nerd--and goes straight to voicemail three times for his troubles. 

Next on the list is MJ; Flash isn’t an idiot, he saw her and Parker together at the end of their vacation. Voicemail. Twice. Of course. 

Betty’s a journalist-at-heart, so she’s next on Flash’s list. Straight to voicemail, again. He tries Zeke and Josh and Laurie and even Brad--even though he cringes in anticipation of Brad’s _I fucking told you something was wrong with him_ \--and reaches no one. 

Sure, it’s not exactly that he’s surprised everyone’s leapt onto their phones at the news. But Flash has always branded himself the biggest Spider-Man nerd in the school, and yet no one bothers to call him first? It’s a little bit insulting. 

He’s almost resigned himself to scrolling through the flood of messages from his Twitter followers that haven’t stopped since the end of his livestream all of half an hour ago when the phone finally rings. It’s Betty, calling him back. Halle-fucking-lujah. 

“Oh my god, Betty--did you see the--it was the hero from--yes, I fucking heard the end. It makes no sense except that it makes _total_ sense… You didn’t know, did you?... I dunno, just thought you and Ned--well, obviously Ned will know--was _he_ acting weird at all?... _Yes,_ on the trip!…” 

* * *

💥Flash💥 @theonlyflasht

🤯

* * *

He’s all amped up, either from stress or excitement or something else altogether. After comparing Parker notes with Betty--all those obvious in hindsight slips and disappearances and coincidences--Flash starts pacing the halls outside his bedroom. Left and right and past the stairs and left again, then turn around and right again and back to the stairs--

He pauses when he hears his parents’ voices down below because a) that means they’re home and b) it sounds like they’re discussing the Parker news, too. 

“...reporting he’s from Queens,” his mom is saying. “And just a high school student.” 

“Imagine that,” says his father, “Just a kid in a mask? His parents ought to keep closer tabs on him...” 

As if either of Flash’s parents have bothered to _keep tabs_ on their own kid. Certainly not to the degree Parker’s watched over by his aunt. Come to think of it, she was hosting that charity dinner that Spider-Man attended (which was, of course, the only reason Flash was even aware of the thing). Damn, and didn’t Mr. Happy say something in the vault about being in love with Spider-Man’s aunt? Which leads to such a funny realization that Flash actually laughs out loud. 

(Downstairs, his father’s words pause at the sound, but he doesn’t stop talking.)

* * *

NED -- sent at 12:16am

IT ISN’T TRUE FLASH

FLASH -- sent at 12:17am

I DUNNO MAN IT SOUNDS PRETTY FUCKING TRUE TO ME

THE DISAPPEARANCES

THE STUPID EXCUSES

THE ENTIRE SUMMER VACAY

THE WASHINGTON FUCKING MONUMENT

IF PARKER ISN’T SPIDER-MAN I WILL DELETE MY LIVESTREAM CHANNEL

NED -- sent at 12:20am

Oh ya no peter’s spider-man

I meant the whole he’s an evil villain thing

FLASH -- sent at 12:21am

If peter fucking parker is an evil supervillain i will delete my livestream AND my twitter

* * *

He spends hours scrolling through his feeds, refreshing Google news, scouring every channel for the latest developments on the Spider-Man reveal. 

Police stormed Parker’s apartment hours after the broadcast. May Parker’s being held for questioning. Authorities are re-examining the sites of the Elemental attacks. Peter Parker aka Alleged Spider-Man has yet to be found. If anyone has information concerning…

Sentiment for the hero is mixed. There’s terror. Incredulity. Jokes. Disbelief. A small subset of staunch believers. A statement of support from the actual real live Avengers organization, which is mostly being derided or ignored under the belief that they’re just covering their own asses. A lot of “but he seemed so nice” that seems creepily similar to the quotes of friends and family after the arrest of any serial killer. 

That’s when Flash has the doubt: _What if he really did--?_ And then he glances up at his largest Spider-Man poster and remembers all the reasons he full-on worshipped this hero, and he remembers all the times he full-on bullied Parker, and the shame surges and he shreds that doubt to pieces.

(In the days to come, there will be more doubts. Flash will quash them ruthlessly every time.)

* * *

He doesn’t sleep that night. 

He texts Ned some more, and Betty as well. He tries to type a message to Parker himself but can’t figure out what exactly he’d say. _Hey man, sorry for being a jerk, I didn’t realize you were my favourite hero of all time._ Yeah, sure. 

Eventually, he sets his phone aside and just lays on his bed staring at the ceiling, mind whirling a mile a minute. He thinks about what it would be like to have superpowers--certainly not the first time he’s considered this in general, but the first time he’s imagined it in a _context._ Science nerd Parker… with super strength. Awkward Parker… with super speed. Perpetually late Parker… saving the world. Penis Parker… maintaining a secret identity. 

“Damn,” he tells the ceiling.

He wonders how long the police will be holding Parker’s aunt, and when they’ll be sending officers to question all the classmates. He wonders who else knew besides the aunt and Ned and possibly MJ. (He doesn’t wonder why Parker never told him.)

And he wonders where Parker is right now: alone and afraid, or surrounded by allies? 

Flash can’t even begin to imagine what he would do if caught in this situation. But the alone part? He can imagine that just fine. 

* * *

💥Flash💥 @theonlyflasht

Seen all your tweets my fine fans. YES i heard the news and YES i know Peter Parker. Livestream at 7am ET, tune in for MY THOUGHTS ON #SPIDERMANREVEAL bit.ly/flashstream

* * *

**\--BEGIN BROADCAST--**

_“Hey everyone, Flash here to address the latest Spider-Man news. Let’s start off with the answer to the biggest question everyone’s been asking: Yes, I go to school with Peter Parker. And yes, we were on the same vacation in Europe._

_“And the second biggest question I’ve been getting: Do I believe the Mysterio broadcast? Do I think Spider-Man is secretly an evil supervillain causing havoc with inherited Stark tech?_

_“You want to know what I think?_

_“I think FUCK that shit, and FUCK anyone who believes it, because let me tell you…”_

**Author's Note:**

> It would not be far from the truth to suggest I wrote this entire thing just to make the butler joke at the beginning.


End file.
